NFL HARD KNOCKS

Falcons 30 Panthers 28 Congrats to Atlanta, currently the best team in the NFC. Good teams find ways to win even when they are not playing their best. Falcons stole one. Contrarily, bad teams like the Panthers, will find a way to screw it up. I still can’t believe Panthers safety Haruki Nakamura let Roddy White get behind him at that point in the game. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets benched.

Arizona 24 Miami 21 OT Cards are 4-0 for the first time since 1974. I’m sure Jim Hart, Dan Dierdorf, Terry Metcalf and the rest of the Cardiac Cards are smiling somewhere. Kevin Kolb took a beating{ 8 sacks} but demonstrated great composure driving his team for a last minute game tying td, including a 15 yard laser pass on 4thand 10 with about 30 seconds left. Arizona is one of the big surprises thus far.

Vikings 20 Lions 13 Minnesota is off to a 3-1 start, but is it sustainable? I’m not sure. Ponder is improved, but is still simply a functional qb. The Vikes couldn’t move the ball via the passing game, totaling just 112 yards. 14 of Minnesota’s 20 points were scored on kick returns.Give Leslie Frazier’s team credit, their defense has shut down the Lions and 49ers.

Meanwhile the disappointing Lions fall into last place in the NFC North. Minnesota played 2 deep safties most of the game to take away the big play. Yet the Lions couldn’t run it vs. a 7 man box, this must change if Detroit is going to turn it around. Tackling on special teams wouldn’t be a bad idea, Sunday the Lions became the first team since 1940 to give up a punt and kickoff return td in back to back games.

Patriots 52 Bills 28 In the offseason the Bills went on a lavish shopping spree. They invested in d-lineman Mario Williams and Mark Anderson, to attack Tom Brady. The result, The Patriots scored 6 2ndhalf TD’s, turning a 21-7 deficit into a blowout win. Buffalo might have been better served allowing Bernie Madoff to manage their cash.

San Francisco 41 Jets 0 I know the final was 34-0, but Colin Kaepernick displayed good sportsmanship by sliding in the closing seconds rather than tacking on additional points. The 49ers just took the ball and rammed it down their throats, running for 245 yards !!!! The real scary part for the Jets fans, was that San Francisco didn’t really play well, 2 missed field goals, numerous penalties, and Alex Smith overthrew wide open receivers.

The Jets offensive contribution: 145 total yards, 9 first downs, and 4 turnovers. Nice job. Next week doesn’t get any easier vs. the Texans. I can already hear the chants calling for Tebow.